Narsingh ready for comeback

New Delhi, March 26

The postponement of the Tokyo Olympics to 2021 has handed Narsingh Pancham Yadav a lifeline and the dope-tainted wrestler today said he would make full use of the “golden chance” after the federation announced that it won’t come in the way of his return. Yadav’s four-year doping ban ends in July.

But now he has a full year to make his case in the 74kg category. India is yet to secure an Olympics quota in the division which was once dominated by Sushil Kumar. The Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) has also said that it won’t stop Yadav from making a comeback. “We will not stop him if he comes to us and says that he wants to compete,” WFI assistant secretary Vinod Tomar said.

Yadav was handed a four-year ban by the Court of Arbitration for Sport in August 2016 for failing a dope test, which had been ruled as sabotage by NADA. “I had this feeling inside me that I will get to compete in the Olympics,” Yadav said from his training base in Mumbai.

“I am completely focussed on my comeback and determined to win a medal at the Tokyo Games,” added the 31-year-old, who kept himself in shape by “competing in dangals”. — PTI